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Regions of Smart Factories
Published on 31 July 2019
Netherlands
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
This practice is a regional masterplan for the production industry and a good example about how successful deployment of RIS3 can involve local SMEs through cooperation with established players. Stakeholders from the entire Quadruple Helix participate.
Production industry is highly relevant to the north of the Netherlands, with recognisable names such as Philips and Fokker but also many small companies that have not realised the potential of Smart Manufacturing.
The practice intends to seize on the opportunities that Smart Manufacturing offers, introducing concepts such as first-time right, customer-specific production and zero defects to companies that currently may not be aware of this. Therefore is very relevant for the region, and can help in maintaining employment and keeping the region attractive for inward investment of new ventures.
There are three main lines for reaching the project’s goals:
knowledge transfer, branding and matchmaking
business development for SMEs, aiming for 10 demonstration projects
establishing 3 projectclusters for experimentation with Smart Manufacturing, by means of field labs
The field lab in particular allows for uncomplicated knowledge transfer between big and smaller companies. Staff from both companies are involved in this process, using processes of ‘teach-the-teacher’ and ‘transfer-between-technicians’, an excellent means for applying know-how in practice very quickly.
Production industry is highly relevant to the north of the Netherlands, with recognisable names such as Philips and Fokker but also many small companies that have not realised the potential of Smart Manufacturing.
The practice intends to seize on the opportunities that Smart Manufacturing offers, introducing concepts such as first-time right, customer-specific production and zero defects to companies that currently may not be aware of this. Therefore is very relevant for the region, and can help in maintaining employment and keeping the region attractive for inward investment of new ventures.
There are three main lines for reaching the project’s goals:
knowledge transfer, branding and matchmaking
business development for SMEs, aiming for 10 demonstration projects
establishing 3 projectclusters for experimentation with Smart Manufacturing, by means of field labs
The field lab in particular allows for uncomplicated knowledge transfer between big and smaller companies. Staff from both companies are involved in this process, using processes of ‘teach-the-teacher’ and ‘transfer-between-technicians’, an excellent means for applying know-how in practice very quickly.
Resources needed
About € 20 million in funding was raised, this includes in-kind funding from participating companies. About 60% of funding is staff, but investment in materials and machines is also a sizeable chunk. Several hundred people are involved, in varying intensity. The project secretariat is 3 FTE.
Evidence of success
This practice is considered a success because it has succeeded in accelerating innovation and added value in the production ecosystem. This is illustrated by spin-off projects such as Digital Twinning that focuses on making digital copies of physical products (to be established in Emmen), and improved models of the human skin for Philips Consumer Products.
Further (national and European) projects are developed, and most important of all, companies and employment are growing.
Further (national and European) projects are developed, and most important of all, companies and employment are growing.
Potential for learning or transfer
For us, one of the key learnings was how integrate a few dominant big players in cooperation with a large body of SMEs, while keeping an interesting ecosystem of sympathetic government and support from academic partners.
We think that this phenomenon can be seen in many other European countries, with production under threat of being moved elsewhere. In such a situation, the Region of Smart Manufacturing may provide a good potential for learning and possibly transfer to other regions in Europe.
We think that this phenomenon can be seen in many other European countries, with production under threat of being moved elsewhere. In such a situation, the Region of Smart Manufacturing may provide a good potential for learning and possibly transfer to other regions in Europe.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
Organisation
Northern Development Company
Netherlands
Groningen
Contact
Project Manager